Go-ahead for Rs 700-crore integrated farm project

SHIMLA: The clouds of uncertainty hovering over the Rs 700 crore Integrated Development Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-fed Agriculture have been cleared with the Centre acceding to the request of the government to the Rs 400-crore World Bank project on forests for prosperity in Una.

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 14

The clouds of uncertainty hovering over the Rs 700 crore Integrated Development Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-fed Agriculture have been cleared with the Centre acceding to the request of the government to drop the Rs 400-crore World Bank project on forests for prosperity in Una.

The decision was conveyed by the Department of Economic Affairs to the government yesterday. The decision was also conveyed to Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, India, World Bank, about the change in the implementation of the forestry project.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, urging him to direct the continuation of the Integrated Development Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-fed Agriculture which was to be implemented in 10 districts, barring Lahaul Spiti and Kinnaur. The jobs of almost 400 persons were dependent on the fate of this project as winding it up or merging it would have put their jobs at stake. The headquarters of the project is at Solan.

It was following the decision of the previous Congress regime that the World Bank had stopped the funding. Now the issue has been resolved with the intervention of Jaitley. Responding to the decision of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), the Himachal Government today constituted a team to pursue the case with the Centre for expeditious disposal. Additional Chief Secretary (Forest) Ram Subhag Singh constituted a team of officers for the integrated development project (IDP) to discuss the follow-up action, consequent to the decision to drop the project.

The team is headed by HK Sarwata, Director, Dr Vivek Lamba, Dr Chander Shekhar Sharma and Naresh Thakur. “We have already informed about the government’s readiness for signing of loan and legal agreement with respect to the IDP on June 27, 2018. Also a formal request was made to the World Bank to prepare the project concept note and project appraisal document,” wrote Ram Subhag.

The letter has also been sent to the Additional Secretary, DEA, Ministry of Finance, and Principal Chief Conservator (PCCF)-cum-Chief Project Director of IDP, Solan, for immediate compliance.